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dc.contributor.advisorNí Chéilleachair, Niamh
dc.contributor.advisorO'Connor, Siobhán
dc.contributor.authorKelly, Lisa
dc.date.accessioned2022-06-30T12:28:20Z
dc.date.available2022-06-30T12:28:20Z
dc.date.copyright2020
dc.date.issued2020-07
dc.identifier.citationKelly, L. (2020). Evaluating the role of specialists FMS instruction to support Irish school children's fundamental movement skill development. Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy - PhD). Department of Sport and Health Sciences AITen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/4006
dc.description.abstractBackground: Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are an important precursor to enjoyment of, and regular engagement in lifelong physical activity (PA). These skills ideally should be learned between the ages of 3- and 8-years old. In Irish primary schools, Physical Education (PE) is typically taught by non-specialist teachers who may not feel confident to deliver all aspects of the PE curriculum equally. This may be a missed opportunity to support children’s FMS development. Purpose: This research aimed to determine if specialist FMS instruction should be incorporated into primary PE lessons to support Irish school children’s FMS development. Methods: Study one established FMS proficiency levels among 414 school children from the midlands of Ireland. Study 2 involved the design, implementation and evaluation of an 8-week school-based intervention programme focusing on specialist FMS instruction. A cluster cross-over design study was used to examine the immediate and long-term effectiveness of the intervention on FMS proficiency levels of 255 1st and 2nd class children. Finally, a teacher questionnaire was designed to examine teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and perceived confidence to teach PE. This study aimed to identify how the quality of PE lessons could be improved to assist children in learning a broad range of FMS during the primary school years. Findings: Less than 40% of children achieved mastery across 15 different skills, with males performing significantly better than females in ball skills and non-overweight children outperforming overweight/obese children. The intervention programme led to significant improvements in locomotor subtest, ball skills subtest and overall FMS scores immediately following the intervention, and FMS scores remained significantly higher than baseline values at 13-month follow-up. Mainstream teachers in Ireland have positive attitudes towards PE but most feel that their pre-service training did not adequately prepare them to teach PE. However, teachers who completed in-service training with an FMS focus reported higher levels of perceived confidence to teach PE, compared to teachers who completed in-service training without an FMS focus. Conclusion: Irish children are failing to master a broad range of FMS, however, engaging in lessons delivered by professionals with specialist FMS content and pedagogical knowledge may support children’s FMS development.en_US
dc.formatPDFen_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherAthlone Institute of Technologyen_US
dc.rightsAttribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/*
dc.subjectMovement developmenten_US
dc.subjectFMS instructionen_US
dc.subjectSchool children - movement skillen_US
dc.titleEvaluating the role of specialists FMS instruction to support Irish school children's fundamental movement skill developmenten_US
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesisen_US
dc.contributor.affiliationAthlone Institute of Technologyen_US
dc.description.peerreviewyesen_US
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-4146-4779en_US
dc.rights.accessrightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessen_US
dc.subject.departmentFaculty of Science & Health AITen_US


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Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike 4.0 International
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike 4.0 International